The salty waters surrounding South Padre Island are home to various marine wildlife, but some islanders were in for a surprise on a recent afternoon when a manatee made an appearance at a local boat dock on the northwest side of the Island, according to Parrot Eyes Water Sports employee Ryan Fuentes. Fuentes, originally from Miami, is familiar with manatees from his native state but said he hadn’t see...
The arrival of the USS Independence at the Port of Brownsville has been delayed by fears on the part of environmental regulators that some of the preparations for the ship’s departure from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard were polluting the water there. According to a Jan. 10 article from the “Kitsap Sun,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology were concerned that the scraping of...
Much like a little puppy, the young brown pelican follows people around. Wildlife rehabbers Dr. Ronald Hines and his wife, Gloria, said the little guy is used to people and loves to be around them. “He’s real gentle. I talk to him while he eats,” Gloria said. This behavior is definitely a step up from one week ago, when he was found sick, without his mama, along the highway. Animal lover Renee...
Mark Haggenmiller was ahead of his time when he started brewing hand-crafted beer on the Island in 1995. Since then he has been mixing hops and barley for a family of premium beers available only at the Padre Island Brewing Company. Because of his foresight and his dedication to the craft of brewing beer, Gov. Greg Abbott awarded Haggenmiller withThe Governor’s Small Business Award. Haggenmiller was recognized at the Governor’s...
Red Tide is usually considered a problem for people near affected areas. Red Tide Rangers conducted a cell count this week determining there is no Red Tide in South Padre Island anymore. The increase in Karenia Brevis Algae, otherwise known as Red Tide is now gone. This week the Red Tide Rangers confirm there is 0 cells of this algae per milliliter. This recent bloom lasted a few months. Tony...
The Port of Brownsville will soon be back in the grain business as the result of a deal with West Plains LLC, which is leasing the port’s towering grain elevator and has already made substantial improvements and repairs to the long-idled, 50-year-old facility. West Plains is owned by Houston-based BioUrja, a Houston-based energy and grains commodities trading company. The deal was facilitated by OmniTRAX Inc., part of The Broe Group,...
Analyze why you are selling – If you understand your motives, you will be able to better negotiate and to get what it is that you want, whether it be a quick sale, high price, or somewhere in the middle. Prepare your home for the buyer – Maximize the strengths of your property and fix up its weaknesses. You want the buyer to walk away from your home with a lasting good...
With the burst of the housing bubble, credit crisis, and millions of foreclosures across the country, you may wonder if buying a home is such a good idea after all. However, it’s important to consider all of the facts. The important message to take away from these events is not that buying a home is a bad idea, but that you must be smart about buying your home. The housing...
FSBO (pronounced fizz-bo), or For Sale By Owner, is a way of selling your home without the use of a professional real estate agent or broker. The idea behind FSBO is that by selling your home yourself, you save the approximate 6% that would be the agents’ commission. 6% may not sound like a lot, but it can add up, especially on more expensive homes. But before you run off...
Hot Market This is an extremely competitive market and is advantageous to the seller. Sometimes, homes will sell as soon as they are listed or even before homes are listed. Typically, during a hot market, multiple offers will be made on each home and more often than not, homes will sell for more than the asking price. It is even more crucial to be prepared and to be ready as...
